In September 2017, Brompton announced that it was enacting a voluntary recall. At my weigh-in, my test bike was more than 26 pounds-just a pound or two lighter than the Dahon Mariner D8 and the Tern Link D8, respectively.ĭespite the 16-inch wheels, I didn’t feel that I was sitting low to the ground, though the ride was somewhat stiff-I noticed every little bump, including the seams in the sidewalk (yes, I know I’m not supposed to ride there).įinally, unlike our other picks (and in spite of all those great accessories available), the Brompton has no kickstand option instead, you have to flip the back tire into a half-fold position if you want to stop the bike and have it still stand up. The Brompton is not as light as you might expect given its smaller size. Without the option of a kickstand, you have to partly fold your Brompton if you have nowhere to lean it. I also perceived a big difference between the gears, so I sometimes felt like Goldilocks, forever looking for the gear that was “just right.” This problem may have been remedied, though, with a custom gear ratio, which I didn’t get to select on the test bike. And to go from, say, 2– to 1+ to climb a hill, you have to coast and drop way down to 1– using your front shifter and then pedal while shifting back up to 1+ using your rear derailleur (the alternative is to pedal really hard for a moment to go from 2– to 2+ in the rear, and then coast while shifting down to 1+). Though the internal gearing is certainly a higher-end feature, the shifting itself takes some getting used to-you aren’t supposed to pedal when changing the front gears, but you do need to pedal when changing the rear, so you have to remember which gear you’re in (or glance down really fast). Our test bike was a six-speed, Brompton’s most popular option, configured with a three-speed internally geared front hub (gears 1, 2, 3) and a rear derailleur that shifts between two external gears on the rear hub (called + and –). A single-speed Brompton starts at about $1,200 the one we tested, the S6L, came outfitted with sport-style straight handlebars, six speeds ($220 more), fenders ($80 more), a front carrier block for attaching a bag and a front flap bag ($185 for both, bag not shown), and rechargeable battery-powered lights ($110, not shown), totaling about $1,795. On a Brompton, the shifting takes some getting used to-you aren’t supposed to pedal when changing the front gears, but you do need to pedal when changing the rear.įinally, Brompton bikes are customizable, which means you can choose the frame material (steel or a superlight combination of steel and titanium) the handlebar shape (three options) the number of gears (one, two, three, or six) and the gear ratios (three choices) the suspension type the tire type the saddle type and height accessories such as the fenders, rack, front bags, and lights and the paint color. (This last feature, which allows you to roll the bike when it’s half-folded and use it as a shopping cart, works better if you have Brompton’s basket bag attached, rather than a touring-style bag.) We’ll look more closely at both Tern’s and Dahon’s front-carrier options for a future update. The other standout feature is the front luggage system, which allows you to clip a number of well-designed bags from Brompton and other makers to the front of the bike the bags can even hang out there (albeit a bit awkwardly) when the bike is folded. Photo: Michael Hessionīy itself, the Brompton might look like just another folded bike … Photo: Michael Hession

… but in a lineup of the folding bikes we tested, it really stands out-or, rather, just the opposite. If you want to tuck your bike under your desk or bring it into stores with narrow aisles, smaller is, of course, definitely better. (The larger wheels don’t help, of course.) The folded Brompton stands 3.4 inches shorter, and measures 2 inches narrower and 8.1 inches shorter front to back, than the Mariner-and the differences are even more dramatic when you compare the Brompton with the larger Tern models.

The rear wheel rotates under, the front wheel tucks into the side, and the handlebars fall sideways and lock into place-the typical fold-in-half frames of our other picks look clunky and huge by comparison. With its exceptionally smart, compact fold, the Brompton was his pick, and it’s also ours for anyone looking for that go-anywhere capability.

Her husband’s top criterion: He wanted to be able to bring his bike into bars. For hers, she really wanted a full-size bike feel and so went with a Dahon that had 20-inch tires (closer to the 26 inches or more on a regular bike-larger wheels generally provide a smoother ride), versus the Brompton’s 16-inchers. On the day I rode the Brompton S6L to work, an acquaintance mentioned that she and her husband were both folding-bike owners. If folding size trumps all, the notably compact Brompton leaves the competition in the dust.

The wirecutter bike